No Jail Time For Hingham Daycare Worker Accused Of Child Abuse

HINGHAM, MA — A former daycare worker accused of shaking and force-feeding children in her care will avoid trial, and likely jail time, after a judge in Hingham District Court accepted her guilty plea.

Marie Millette, 31, of Braintree, received a six-month suspended jail sentence, but doesn't have to serve it if she abides by the terms of her two-year probation. Last May, Millette was charged with eight counts of reckless endangerment of a child and assault and battery, the Patriot Ledger reported.

Parents gathered in the courtroom for the sentencing, many who testified or provided evidence to the case, were disappointed by Millete's sentence. MaryEllen Dillon whose niece was abused, told Boston 25 News, she didn't think the two years of probation was a strong enough sentence, and that Millette should have stood trial. Judge Neil Hourihan addressed parents after the case, the Patriot Ledger reported.

“I heard families make heartbreaking statements about their children and I do characterize this as child abuse,” Hourihan said. “I know it’s not what many of you felt was reasonable, and I understand that wholeheartedly as a parent.”

Millette worked at the Hingham daycare, Bright Horizons for six years, but was fired in November 2016 after a teacher reported the accusations against Millette to administrators. Prosecutors said she abused seven children over a period of eight months.

The state's Department of Children and Families determined in their report that Millette caused a child to vomit by holding a spoonful of food in their mouth for too long. The department also said she held her hand over another child's mouth while feeding them a hot dog. When a co-worker said the child being forced fed a hot dog couldn't breath, the co-worker said Millette laughed and told her the child can breathe out of her nose.

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